Fairbanks sophomore Rachael Hoover, left, gives a tremendous effort and passes a runner down the stretch of the state Division III girls 800 meter run. Hoover came from near the back of the pack to finish sixth and earn All-Ohio honors. The state meet was held at The Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The emotional roller-coaster that is involved with sports can take sudden and dramatic turns.
Fairbanks High School sophomore Rachael Hoover learned that during the final day of the Division III state track and field meet.
Hoover began the day at The Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium full of high hopes.
She had competed during prelims in a few events on the first day of the meet, but did not qualify for any finals.
With fewer events to be concerned about the following day, Hoover hoped to earn a trip to the awards stand after the finals of both the 1600 and 800 meter events.
The day didn’t start out well at all.
She felt the lowest of lows at the end of the 1600 when she was bumped out of an awards position by another runner.
The state presents medals and All-Ohio honors to the top eight runners in each event.
The collision between runners left Hoover in ninth place.
Approximately 35 minutes later, however, the Lady Panther runner was on top of the world when she placed sixth in the 800.
The 1600 drama
The heat of the day, something that Hoover doesn’t like to deal with when she’s running, had yet to hit the track when the race began shortly after 10 a.m.
Hoover was in the middle of the 18-runner field with an approximate split time of 1:12 after the first of the four-lap race.
She stood at seventh with a 2:32 time at the 800-meter mark, but slipped back to 10th with a 3:49 clocking as the gun lap rang out.
Hoover made a solid move around one of the final curves and began to make her quest for state honors.
She was slightly ahead of Minster’s Margaret Hemmeigarn for the final podium spot.
With just a handful of meters to go, Hemmeigarn bumped into Hoover and knocked her off stride.
That prevented the Lady Panther from placing eighth and earning a medal.
Instead, she finished ninth with a time of 5:08.20.
That was far better than her seed time of 5:13.18, but was of little consolation.
“She hit me,” Hoover said through some tears. “She hit me!”
It took the FHS runner a couple of minutes to calm down before she could reflect upon her race.
“I tried to take the first two laps with the pack,” she said. “I wanted to see how I felt and my split times were right in there.”
Hoover said she worked hard after the third lap to be in contention for a state placement.
The possibilty materialized after she passed the Minster runner by about a half a head.
The bump that pushed Hoover – who placed ninth last year in the same state race – out of awards contention came during the final few meters.
To her credit, Hermmeigarn came up to Hoover and apologized after the race.
Caleigh Richards of Maplewood won the event with a time of 4:57.53.
Rounding out the top eight award winners were:
-Claire Rethman, Ft. Loramie, 4:58.35;
-Macie Miller, Old Fort, 5:01.51;
-Madeleine Finton, Columbia, 5:01.74;
-Sophia Yon, Lowellville, 5:03.01;
-Myla Toole, North Adams, 5:04.83;
Ella Webster, Van Buren, 5:06.74;
-Hemmeigarn, 5:08.12.
The 800 move to the podium
Despite the crushing blow of the 1600 race, Hoover returned with a vengeance for the 800.
She was toward the backof the 18-runner pack in the first of the two-lap race.
Hoover, however, felt she had a good first lap, which set her up for the final portion of the race.
“I got to the final stretch and saw some other runners start to slow up,” she said. “I knew I had a good kick.”
And it definitely was.
The burst of speed helped her wipe out four places as she crossed the finish line with a sixth-place effort of 2:18.73. That bettered her seed clocking of 2:19.98.
“I wanted this so badly,” she yelled with delight. “This is amazing!”
Hoover asked about her official time.
When she learned the numbers, she said through tears of happiness, “Oh my gosh! That’s close to a school record.”
Indeed it was.
Her time was just .23 of a second off the school record of 2:18.50 that was set in 2000 by Lindsey Reed.
Taylor Roth of Minster broke the tape in the race with a time of 2:12.65.
She was followed to the podium by the following:
-Marie Souther, Zane Trace, 2:13.41;
-Haley Alig, Coldwater, 2:16.42;
Alivia Roerdink, Hopewell-Louden, 2:16.79;
-Erica Durst, Reed Eastern, 2:17.94;
-Hoover, Fairbanks, 2:18.73;
-Lily Bertemes, South Charleston Southeastern, 2:18.78;
-Katie Lane, Mogadore, 2:18.94.
“Rachael did a great job of composing herself after the disappointing finish in the 1600,” said FHS coach Patrick Cotter. “She ran an amazing race in the 800 and achieved her goal of being an All-State track athlete.
“Both of her races were PRs (personal records) and I think she was the only athlete running in both the 1600 and 800 today.”